Opinion on these Boats Please.

No, not really.

My friend had the same boat and it was very good.
The Mariah is the favourite of the 2, but its a long long way from me, I wondered if there was anyone local that might know the boat.

Other thing, this one looks like its been antifouled which maybe isn't a good thing on these type of boats.

The Bounty looks interesting though.

Cheers

Al.
 
Hi Al,

Firstly the outboard Bounty is a great boat. They have a good nhull and are Beamy for UK built boats. An outboard will be easier and cheaper to service and those mercs if looked after will go on and on. The bounty is a bumpy ride though as they were made to skip accros the waves.

The Mariah is a very good boat with better handling and will feel more secure. The 4.3 merc is a good solid engine but check out the servicing.

I think the Mariah is in a different league, although the interior will be a bit rough and may need some work.

Paul /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
I don´t think the 4.3 is particularly expensive to service. If you do it yourself (which is not hard) you can service the engine and leg for under 100 quid. Here is a kit on ebay with everything you need, other than the 4 litres of engine oil:

ebay

I wouldn´t worry about the hull being anti-fouled as I doubt if it will make any difference to the performance. The only thing you need to watch out for is if the boat has been kept in the water for a long time, if it has damaged the leg in any way.
 
Don't know how the Bounty would handle. Had it's little sister the "Bikini" once and although I think it was overepowered the handling of that was often likened to a 3.0l Ford Capri on a wet road! I think the Mariah would be a lot more suitable.
 
I would think 2 different price ranges. I would have thought the Dateline would be half the price of the Mariah.... really depends what you want.

....pound for pound probably you would have more fun in the Dateline...use it for as year, tidy it up a bit, keep it clean and sell it next year for the same price... cheap boating /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
 
I know nothing about the Dateline, but i did see some Mariah and their quality never failed to impress me. The lack of it, I mean.
 
Is that right?
What is it you didn't like about them?

My opinion was the exact opposite.

My friend had this very same boat, and it was that boat that made me go out and buy my first boat.

I thought it was very well made boat, well screwed together, and used high quality fixture and fittings, it always struck me as one of the better American built boats.

I have to admit thought to not knowing much about them, so I appreciate your opinion, thanks.

Cheers

Al.
 
In no particular order:
most GRP components poorly shaped (i.e. swim platform attached to the hull with plenty of sealant between them);
inside parts (e/r, bilge, lockers) badly finished, with rough GRP and screws showing internally;
poor "solidity" of some assemblings (windscreen);
very basic components used for switches and other accessories;
upholstery and stiching rather thin, and not nicely fitting in places.

All that said, there's one of them I saw recently which made me the worst impression (and she wasn't old either, 2007 IIRC), but I saw her together with a Cobalt, and tbh the comparison wasn't fair. The Cobalt is in another league not just for quality, but also for price.

PS: forgot to mention the most important thing: very thin and irregular hull sides. Just look at them from the bow or the stern, and you'll notice how irregular they are. And you can flex them with relatively low effort just by pushing a hand against them.
 
THe older Mariahs are a lot better quality than new ones. Boats built pre 2001 were excellent, with some of the best finishing I have seen on small mass produced sportsboats.

Since 2001 the company appears to have changed to a cheap and cheerfull finsh, similar to the late 90's Glastrons.
 
Aha. I wasn't aware of that, but yes, the ones I saw recently were definitely all post-2001.
Blimey, they must have made some radical changes, possibly using even a different yard and moulds, if they really were as nicely made as you're saying.
 
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